


Maybe the real family is the weird creatures we met along the way

by Spriingflower



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Urban Magic, also it's christmas in this, changbin runs a magic shop, everyone is a magic creature I guess, felix (who everyone including himself first assumes is human) stumbles in, shenanigans ensue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28264152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spriingflower/pseuds/Spriingflower
Summary: Felix stumbles into a weird candy shop one day while walking around town, the people inside give him odd looks and the owner seems weird. To make it even weirder Felix notices that the owner starts following him after that. And once he confronts them things only get more and more bizarre.
Kudos: 32
Collections: STAY CAROLS 2020





	Maybe the real family is the weird creatures we met along the way

The small bell chimes as Felix enters the store and immediately all eyes are on him. The people inside, the shoppers and a small guy behind the counter, all look at him with something between surprise and shock. Almost as if they were holding a secret meeting and forgot to lock the door and now he just stepped in on them discussing the plans for their next big operation. But this is a candy shop, not a meeting room. At least from the outside, it looked pretty much like a candy store. Bright coloured sign above the door, shelves full of colourful little things in jars visible through the milky glass windows covering almost the entire front of the store that's facing the road. The place is a little odd for a candy shop, almost on the edge of town in a small side street that Felix only wandered in on accident. But that explains why he hasn't taken notice of this store before. And Felix has pretty much been to any candy store in and around this town. The small family-owned businesses that make beautiful handmade candies and rice cake, the big stores that sell candy from well-known brands in bulk, the small cornerstones that deal with international sweets and the fancy chocolate shops in the malls. But he's never been here, never even heard of the place, so of course, he had to check it out when he noticed it.

But now, with all of those eyes on him, Felix considers just turning around and leaving again. Pretending he walked into the wrong place and just turning back around with an awkward smile. But now he's here already, it would probably be weird – and maybe also kinda rude – to just leave after he's disturbed, everyone. So Felix shuffles inside awkwardly, trying to keep his eyes fixed on the items on the shelves so he can avoid meeting the gaze of anyone still suspiciously looking at him. He hears two people whisper behind him in some foreign language he has never heard before. But somehow it sounds like an old language. Or ancient rather. Like a variety of old English that is no longer spoken anywhere. However, Felix doesn't turn around to see who's talking. He keeps scanning the shelves for something that looks familiar, a type of candy he recognises. Or at least something cheap. But none of the many jars have any sort of label or price tag on them. Most of them are filled with different varieties of what Felix assumes to be hard candy though. Small colourful things, the shape and size of marbles. There are also other things, some crumbly looking blocks that Felix assumes to be cookies or some kind of toffee. The thing that finally captures his attention is a small jar or lollipops. Or at least they look like lollipops. Wooden sticks skewered into colourful round candy. Felix stops and looks around for some kind of tongs he can use to take a few of those out of their jar, maybe also a bag to put them into. Or at least a scale maybe. But when he spots neither of these things he just takes the whole jar out of the shelf with a small sigh and carries it to the counter.

"Three of those please", he mutters while setting down the jar. The man behind the counter – now that Felix is standing right in front of him he doesn't even appear to be that short – looks at him somewhat perplexed and he takes just a moment longer than would be normal to respond.

"Uh, sure, that'll be, uh, two thousand Won please", he says. The number sounds weird, too clean, too even, to pay for three. As if he made it up on the spot. But at least it seems to be a fair price so Felix grabs two slightly crumpled up bills from his coat pocket and places them on the counter. The man looks at them for a moment before he grabs them, looks at them once again and then just places them in his cash register. Has that thing even been there before? Felix doesn't remember the man typing anything into it. Anyways, now that Felix has paid for the goods he gets to watch the man awkwardly open the jar and reach into it, bear hands, not even a glove or anything and grab three of the candies carefully by their wooden sticks. He then pulls them out and holds them out for Felix.

"Uh, could you put those in a bag for me please?", Felix asks. Maybe the guy is just new here. Or he's only doing it as a side job while going to university or something like that. Now that he thinks about it, Felix can't really guess how old the other is. On first glance, he would have assumed that they are around the same age but now that he's standing in front of the man Felix feels like he is looking at someone much much older than himself.

"Oh, of course, sorry", the man mutters. With his free hand, he produces a small plastic bag from underneath the counter and puts the candy in there before tying it and handing it to Felix.

"Thanks, have a nice day", Felix says, forcing a smile. The man smiles back at him.

"Yeah, you too."

Despite the weirdness of that encounter Felix probably would not have spent a lot of time thinking about that candy shop after his visit there. Had it not been for the owner suddenly showing up pretty much everywhere. The first time Felix actively noticed it was in a bookstore, he had been shopping around for Christmas presents – although Christmas is still a month away Felix likes to be prepared early – when he noticed the short man standing at a nearby book table. Of course, that could have been mere coincidence. But he didn't seem to be browsing, not even looking at the books in front of him actually. He was staring straight at Felix. The moment he noticed Felix staring back he suddenly turned and left without even as much as acknowledging that Felix had spotted him staring. And maybe Felix could have convinced himself that he had just been imagining that, had it not happened again and again after that.

When Felix went to the mall with his friends to hang out, there was candy shop guy, just happening to walk past the store they were currently in and staring at him through the window. When Felix went to the city to take pictures of the gorgeous Christmas lights they had hung up to decorate, there was candy shop guy, sitting at a bench nearby but suddenly getting up and leaving before Felix could approach.

He finally manages to catch him a week after their first encounter. Felix notices the man walking behind him with enough distance to not be spotted right away, but Felix has sort of become hyper-aware of it by now. He slows down his steps a little as if he's looking at something in the window of a shop before he suddenly speeds up again and turns the next corner into a smaller side street where he immediately presses his back against a wall, hoping that the candy shop guy will follow him. And he does. He walks right past Felix and looks around for a moment, probably in search of him and that is when Felix steps out from his little hiding spot.

"You've been following me", he says.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I just had to... confirm something", the man sighs. He doesn't sound like he really feels apologetic, more like he is upset that he has been caught.

"What do you mean?", Felix asks. The man looks around, then sighs again.

"Look, I'd rather not do this out in the open. Could you just follow me back to my shop? It's not far from here and we could sit down and talk there. That would make it much easier."

"I'm not going anywhere before you tell me why you've been following me", Felix crosses his arms in front of his chest as if that would give his words more weight before he suddenly comes up with another idea. He pulls out his phone and holds it up for the other guy to see. "Look, I'm going to call the police and tell them you've been stalking me if you don't tell me what's going on right now."

Another sigh.

"I understand you're upset and I'm probably only going to make you more upset by saying this." He pauses, takes a deep breath. "Look, the world isn't what you think it is. There are things you don't know about, things not meant for your eyes. You should not have even seen my store nevermind being able to come in. There is a magic barrier at the door and it only allows those who possess magic to pass through. But you walked in just like that. And that shouldn't have been possible unless you aren't actually human..."

"This has to be some kind of weird joke. Are you filming for something? Is this like a very elaborate hidden camera thing? Did one of my friends set you up to do this? There can't be such a thing as a magic shop, there just can't", Felix says. He can feel his voice begin to wafer as the uncertainty takes hold. All of what that other man just told him is way too bizarre and yet there is a nagging voice in the back of Felix's head, telling him that it's just confirming something he had known for a while now.

"So then, why don't you just ask your friends? If this really is a normal candy shop as you claim it is then one of them should know about it, right? There should be information for you to look up online. Why don't you check?"

Felix is not sure if the other man means for that to be a challenge but he takes his phone out either way. He begins feverishly typing, then stares at the screen, shakes his head, typing again. The whole process repeats a couple of times before he finally puts down the phone. A resigned look on his face.

"There's nothing", he mutters, feeling utterly defeated. The whole world as he knew it seems to be crumbling around him. The shop owner sighs.

"How about we go to the back of the shop, I make you a hot chocolate and we have a little chat about this whole thing?"

Felix just nods, not knowing what else he could even still say at this point. There is too much information for him to process all at once. This store not being real, the owner being some kind of magical creature. But Felix himself probably being one as well in one way or the other might be the toughest pill to swallow. And yet Felix follows the shop owner down the road, had they always been that close to the shop? He thought he remembered it being in a completely different part of the city. But at this point that might be the least of his worries. They head inside and Felix follows the owner to a little door that he didn't even notice there before, between to of the many shelves filled with little bags and jars of what he assumed were candies.

It leads into a little back room that seems to be part storage and part tea kitchen. There is a small table with a couple of comfortable looking chairs placed around it at the centre of the room and shelf stuffed with various object and almost all walls. A little orange cat watches Felix curiously as he steps inside.

"Get comfortable, I'm going to get us something to drink", the owner says, pointing to the chairs. Felix hesitates a moment but then sits down.

"My name's Felix, by the way, maybe you'd wanna know that after following me all week. What's your name?", he asks. Out of all the questions running through his head at the moment, it might not be the most relevant, but it feels like a good place to start. The man smiles.

"I'm Changbin and I'm a witch", he introduces himself. "And that little fellow right there is Jisung, he's my familiar."

The orange cat meows at Felix as if to say hello and he cautiously reaches out a hand to pet it. Immediately the cat jumps into his lap and curls up there, purring as Felix absentmindedly runs his fingers through the soft fur.

"So, you're a witch? And you sell magic?"

"Well, I sell potions and charms mostly. Most of them are simple ready-made stuff like what you see stocked in the shelves out front. But for some trusted customers I will also do some more complicated things here in the back. I also used to dabble in selling curiosities, pendents and other stuff like that but the quality items are hard to get by and most vendors are... let's just say they are usually complicated creatures to deal with", Changbin explains. Felix has looked around the room while the other man had been talking, observing all the dried herbs hanging from the ceiling as well as the many shelves and cupboards stuffed with little flasks, crystals and various other items. There are also candles everywhere and in every colour, although Felix doubts that their purpose lies only in decoration.

"So everything you sell is magic?", he asks, turning back to Changbin. The witch nods.

"You're probably wondering what the thing I sold to you actually was, huh? Don't worry, if it had been anything dangerous I wouldn't have sold it to you. It's a memory charm, if you focus very hard on something while you keep one of them in your mouth you'll be guaranteed to remember it. Did you try any of them yet?", he seems genuinely curious so Felix goes along with it and nods.

"I tried sucking one of them because I figured they were lollipops but I stopped after a while because the taste was kind of weird and also it didn't melt in my mouth like a real lollipop would. But that at least explains why I can't get that song that was playing out of my head anymore." Felix takes a small sip out of the mug placed in front of him. Only after he swallowed the sweet, warm liquid he begins wondering if there just might be magic in it as well. It doesn't taste odd though. It tastes just like hot chocolate. It may even be the best hot chocolate that Felix had the pleasure of tasting his entire life. The sweet yet rich taste of chocolate lingers on his tongue even after he already put the mug down and a warm feeling stats spreading through his body. Changbin chuckles.

"That should wear off in a couple of days, but maybe I'll have to think about adjusting my formula for taste. Maybe I could just add a few drops of honey, the stickiness should work great with memory-related charms", he says, still smiling then his face suddenly turns back to that serious expression from earlier. "I know that all of that must be very much confusing for you right now and I would like for you to know that it's completely up to you where you want to go from here. I don't think that there is any deep magic buried within you that might break out and cause havoc. After all, you have lived your whole life so far without even noticing it and you could just continue to do so. If you wish to continue your life normally you can just walk out of this store and never turn back. Completely forget about it. I could even brew you a little potion to erase those memories if you want to." Changbin pauses for a moment. Maybe he's waiting for Felix to take him up on the offer right away. And a part of Felix wants to. But there is another, louder, part of him that wants to know more. Wants to see more of this world that has been hidden from him for so long even though it was always just in the corner of his eye. He wants to learn more about who he really is. He's gotten a taste and now he's craving more. As if he read his mind, Changbin sighs.

"Or if you wish to stay, I can try to help you figure out some things about yourself. Maybe. No promises though. I'll have to send some messages first, some of my old friends might be able to help. So if you want to, you could come by here again tomorrow. After closing."

Felix hesitates. He thinks about his parents, who might not actually be his real parents even though he's only ever known them as that. But then he slowly nods his head.

"Yeah, I'd like to find out more. I think I'm already too far down the rabbit hole now to just turn back around."

Changbin told Felix that he wouldn't have to go to a specific location to find the store but that instead, the door would just show itself to Felix if he wandered into some empty street with no one else around to see him walk in. Still, Felix is rather surprised when he notices the door showing up just a few blocks down from his home after walking around for a bit. He stops to look around, making sure that there really is no one watching him before he reaches for the door. For a moment he wonders what someone would see if they were to spot him. Would they just see someone opening a door that hadn't been there before and disappearing into a wall, leaving no trace? Felix chuckles at the thought for a moment, then he pushes open the door.

The same bell he heard the last few times announces his arrival but this time the mood is different. The inside of the shop is dark and it's almost completely quiet. Hesitantly Felix walks towards the door that leads to the back, thinking that Changbin might be waiting for him there. But when he opens it he is instead met with an orange-haired guy, probably around his own age, sitting on the table where they had hod chocolate yesterday.

"Sup?", the boy greets.

"Hey, uh, do you work for Changbin?", Felix stutters. The boy laughs.

"Well, you might say that. I'm Jisung."

"But isn't that-"

"The cat's name?" The boy laughs again. Then, in one swift motion, he pushes himself off the table and launches towards Felix. But his feet never land on the ground, instead, the orange cat from yesterday is suddenly sitting in front of Felix. He stumbles backwards and hits a shelf, the glasses dangerously shake and click together as Felix stammers a serious of _whats_ and _hows._ The cat, of course, doesn't answer him, just rubs itself against Felix's leg and meows. Luckily Changbin comes into the room through another door right this moment. He takes one look at the scene and then sighs.

"Jisung, I told you not to scare him. He's not used to seeing people change their form", he scolds the cat. Jisung moves away from Felix to jump onto one of the seats. The cat never reaches it but the orange-haired boy is sitting there the next moment. This time Felix is somewhat more prepared for it but it doesn't take away from the insanity of the situation.

"Sorry", Jisung mumbles, "I just wanted to mess with you a little. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's, uh, it's okay", Felix stammers, although he isn't quite sure whether or not it actually is. He briefly wonders if this is just what his life is going to be like from now on. Never knowing what to expect, always having to be alert, always having to wonder whether that cat he just saw in the street could turn into a person the next moment.

"Don't worry, once you get used to it more you'll be able to spot other creatures and recognise them for what they are", Changbin explains. It's the second time already that he directly responds to something Felix had only been thinking.

"Can you read my mind?", he asks. At this point, he wouldn't even be surprised. Changbin shakes his head and laughs.

"Not really, no. But I can usually pick up on strong emotions. And you just have a really easy to read face."

"Oh", Felix says. "Would have been kind of cool if you actually could, I guess."

"I can do a lot of other cool stuff, though", Changbin chuckles. After that, there is a second of awkwardness in which Felix does not really know what to say and Changbin doesn't speak up either until he clumsily sits down at the chair directly opposite of where Felix has sat down last time and points to the free chair.

"Why don't you take a seat? I've invited a friend over who might be able to help you figure some things out but he's running a little late, the weather reports were off I guess..."

"Water spirit, can't leave his river or whatever body of water he's staying in for long unless it rains", Jisung supplies helpfully before Felix can even ask why the weather reports would have anything to do with that.

"Ah", he mumbles as if that totally makes sense. Asking further questions would probably only confuse him even more. So, not knowing what else to do, he takes a seat and looks around the room again.

"You told me you do charms and stuff right?", Felix asks, while his eyes are wandering over a collection of feathers, crystals and what appears to be small pieces of bones from animals Felix can't identify. "How exactly does that work?"

"Well, charms are mostly small objects that have magic bound to them, mostly you are supposed to carry them on you or place them somewhere for the effect to work. Those feathers over there are used for sleeping charms for example. I enchant them and dip them in a brew of certain herbs and then let them dry out under the light of a full moon. And then you just have to hang it over your bed by a string and you'll sleep well."

"Oh, so sort of like a dream catcher?"

"Hmm, not quite. Actual dream catchers are a very delicate kind of magic, it's an art form only few have really mastered and not really in my expertise. But I supposed the magic in those is similar."

Felix takes another long look at the feathers before he turns back to face Changbin. He didn't notice but Jisung must have turned back into a cat while he wasn't looking and has now spread his limbs out all over Changbin's lap. Felix smiles at the view for a second before he asks his next question.

"So is magic something you can learn? If you say that dream catchers aren't your expertise, then what is it? Is that something you can decide for yourself or are you born with it?"

Changbin laughs.

"That's a lot of questions, but I guess it's normal to be curious. Well, most creatures are akin to magic and can probably pick up a few spells and incantations and pretty much everyone can brew a simple potion if it doesn't require you to recite magic over it. But to actually draw from the natural flow of mana and wield magic one has to be born with a gift for it. And then there are years and years of learning how to properly use that gift. Most of us are naturally drawn to some type of magic, mine could probably be best described as enchanting, but you're not necessarily bound to that, you can attempt to learn any kind. But few actually stray from what's natural to them."

"Changbin used to dabble in necromancy", Jisung informs. It's the first time Felix hears him talk while in cat form and he's not sure what to be more surprised by. So where all the meows just for show? Changbin shoves the cat of his lap and Jisung hisses at him when he lands on the floor.

"I had sort of an, uh, edgy phase growing up", Changbin explains while awkwardly scratching his neck. "Anyways, so there's all different types of magic and also all sorts of people who can use it. There's a lot I could tell you, way too much for just one evening."

"Do you think you could teach me?", Felix asks, but before Changbin could answer a lot rapping at the front door of the shop interrupts them. Changbin jumps up from his chair.

"Looks like our guest is here, Jisung could you invite him in, I'll get a bucket of water", he says. Felix watches as the small orange cat walks through the door that leads back into the shop, probably to turn back into a person there. Although the mental image of Jisung in his cat form attempting to open the door for someone is sort of amusing. Felix silently giggles to himself but stops immediately when he notices Changbin giving him a weird look as he sets down a small metal container of water on the ground.

"Just nervous", Felix mumbles and Changbin gives him an understanding nod. The very next moment Jisung – person-shaped – reenters the room, followed by a very beautiful and also tall man with gorgeous flowing black hair that falls down to his shoulders. Felix's breath actually hitches for a moment when he sees him but luckily no one notices because the gorgeous man and Changbin are busy greeting each other in a weird language that Felix has never heard anywhere before. He looks over at Jisung but the boy only shrugs his shoulders as if to say that he doesn't really understand either. Changbin gestures to the table and points at Felix while he continues speaking in that weird tongue. The man with the dark hair turns to look at Felix and he awkwardly raises a hand as to wave but then just leaves it hanging in mid-air. The man smiles. Then he takes the empty chair next to Felix and puts his bare feet into the container of water Changbin had set down earlier.

"So you must be Felix?", he asks. Even his voice sounds smooth, like flowing water. Felix just nods weakly and the man smiles at him again. "I'm Hyunjin. Changbin has told me a little bit about you. You seem to be quite an interesting person. Mind if I hold your hand?"

"Uh, what? Why?", Felix stammers but Hyunjin doesn't even wait for a response, just reaches out and grabs one of Felix's hands with both of his. His skin is smooth and a little bit cold.

"Hmm, you like swimming, huh? And you used to like building little paper boats and watching them go down the river", Hyunjin muses while he gently brushes his thumb over the back of Felix's hand. "Water remembers", Hyunjin explains with a chuckle before Felix could even ask. He's getting kinda used to that by now.

"Are you getting any idea and what he might be?", Changbin asks. Hyunjin gives him a small glare before he turns back to Felix.

"I'm getting to that", he explains. His voice is calm but cold but when he continues speaking it's soft again. Like the mumbling and murmuring of a spring hidden deep in the woods. "Tell me, Felix, do you think that you are a persuasive person? Is it easy for you to make others do what you want? Not necessarily in a manipulative way, but when you ask for something, do people somehow never turn you down? And when they make a promise to you, do they never seem able to break it?"

"Uh, I guess. I'm not really sure."

"Hmm", Hyunjin looks him up and down and then nods to himself quietly. "And when you make promises to others, do you always keep them?"

"Of course. I mean that's what promises are for, right?"

Hyunjin nods again. "Does the thought about breaking a promise trouble you? Does it make you feel physically sick?"

"Now that you say it..." Felix awkwardly shuffles around in his chair. Hyunjin pulls back his hands suddenly and turns to look at Changbin.

"I suspect he might be a changeling. I can feel the fairy blood coursing through his veins."

"Oh", Changbin mutters. He's suddenly looking anywhere but at Felix and even Jisung looks awfully serious.

"What's a changeling?", Felix asks hesitantly. Even though he directs the question at Changbin, Hyunjin is the one to answer.

"Fairies can be very tricky little creatures. Sometimes they like to take away human children and they leave one of their own behind in the place of the child they stole. Usually, these fairy children don't live very long. They are frail and without the magic from their realm they wither away quickly. But some make it. And they grow up to believe themselves to be ordinary humans. Most of them don't ever realise that there is something different about them for their entire life. Cases like yours are... rare."

Felix swallows around the weird knot that suddenly formed in his throat while Hyunjin had been talking. He knew that whatever would be revealed today would probably be shocking, but even with that knowledge, nothing could have prepared him for that sinking feeling in his stomach upon getting confirmation for what he had already started to suspect. His actual parents had abandoned him.

"So, I'm a fairy, huh?", Felix forces himself to smile but he can feel his bottom lip wobble a little as he speaks. And suddenly Changbin's hand is on his shoulder.

"I can't imagine how that must feel but know that they didn't really abandon you completely. At least I don't believe. From what I know fairies like to keep an eye on their offspring, even when they leave them. They just can't directly visit. But they'll often send little gifts, like certain flowers growing in your garden or little animal companions that keep watch over you. Fairies are complicated to understand creatures but I'm sure that in their way your parents loved you. Besides, you also have the parents who raised you. And you have us now, you can come by here whenever you want. And I'll try to teach you everything that I know about whatever it is you want to learn."

Felix looks around the table. There is Jisung giving him a big creshire cat grin, Hyunjin with his calm and reassuring smile and Changbin who is looking at him with so much compassion. And Felix smiles back at all of them.

"Can you teach me how to do magic?", he asks. Changbin chuckles.

"Well, at the very least I can try."

After that Felix spends pretty much every other afternoon at the shop. He helps Changbin out, fills up the shelves and chats with the customers. He's slowly starting to pick up some fragments of the common tongue most of these creatures share and most of the time he's at least able to hold a conversation. Changbin also started teaching him about potions and simple magic spells. Things that Felix might be able to do. Sometimes Felix only sits in one of the cosy chairs and watches as Changbin mutters ancient words and draws weird shapes onto parchment, other times he's actually allowed to help. Under Changbin's guidance, Felix learns the ingredients for various healing potions and the instruction for a handful of charms. It's hard at first, but Felix is a quick learner. The magic feels natural to him.

And he also learns to cope. The thought of his real parents leaving him was hard to swallow at first. Until he realised that the couple that raised him as their own are just as much his real parents. If not more. Because they never knew him as anything but their son. And he would never think of them as anything other than his parents. Family doesn't always have to come from blood. Felix learns that as well.

Changbin has some weird friendships with a few of the creatures that visit his shop regularly. And often they are not there to buy from him, just to stand around and talk. If the shop's not busy Changbin will take them into the back room and drink a cup of tea with them while Felix watches the register. And sometimes they then stay until after closing. So when Felix has made sure that the front door is locked and the lights are turned out he sits down and joins them to learn and hear stories.

That's how he meets Jeongin, a young fox spirit who likes to haggle the prices on luck charms. He's a sly guy, a bit of a trickster but also very friendly and kind-hearted. There's Chan, a tired werewolf who comes by to get some sleeping potions regularly. Also once a month he picks up a strange little potion that Changbin had to start preparing days in advance. Felix asked him about what it was but Changbin didn't tell him much more other than that it is something Chan needs to get through the full moon nights. Felix didn't ask further questions. Then there is also Minho, who Felix isn't actually sure about. Every time Felix asks Minho declares himself to be a different sort of creature with a whole new backstory to tell. The first time he introduced himself as an elf, then as a vampire and the last time, which was just two days ago, he tried convincing Felix that actually he is a ghost. Felix tried asking Changbin and Jisung what Minho actually is but they refuse to tell him because they think it's very funny. And finally, there is Seungmin. Probably the one Felix has spent the most time talking to. Because Seungmin is a fairy. He likes to just appear out of thin air, opening portals from his realm to this one and stumbling through for a cup of hot chocolate whenever he feels like it. The first time he gave Felix a big scare and he almost dropped the jar of little pebbles he had been carrying, but by now Felix has gotten really used to people just appearing around the shop.

Seungmin also teaches Felix a lot. Or at least he attempts to. But his explanations about the high court of the fairies are often rather confusing and his language lessons hard to follow. The fae tongue is difficult to pronounce for someone who has been speaking in human languages for all his life. But at least Felix is able to pick up some words. Seungmin also supplies Felix with little berries. He explained that normally he's not allowed to share them with anyone because they can get other creatures addicted. If a human were to eat one of those they would never crave normal food again, even if they were starving to death. But for Felix, it should be fine to eat them on occasions, since he is of fairy blood as well. Actually, Seungmin seems to be jealous of Felix when it comes to food. Because while Felix can eat both the berries and regular food, Seungmin can't consume anything from outside of his realm. The only exception is in drinks, which makes hot chocolate a weird little loophole that Seungmin likes to exploit. He would not be able to eat solid chocolate without getting very sick, but once it's melted down into a drink he can enjoy it. And apparently, Changbin makes some very good hot chocolate.

It's weird how quickly this all becomes normal to Felix. So when Changbin asks him to stay a little longer after closing to help him with developing a new charm for the shop Felix doesn't even question it. Although he did notice that Changbin had been acting sort of weird throughout the day. Sneaking around, refusing to let Felix into the backroom and whispering with Jisung way more than usual. But Felix brushes it off. He also doesn't have much time to think about it because there is an unusual amount of customers today. A lot of them he knows and he notices Changbin taking them aside or into the backroom for hushed conversation every now and again.

Halfway into the day, Changbin retreats completely, claiming that he has preparations to do and leaves the shop to Jisung and Felix. Although Jisung isn't much help since he just turns into a cat and curls up onto the counter while Felix tries his best to serve the customers. Surprisingly few actually seem to want to purchase anything. Quite the contrary actually, since at least five different people show up with a small package and saying that it's a special delivery for Changbin. Felix takes them and every once in a while Jisung turns into a person to take them to Changbin. When Felix asks what all of this is about Jisung mumbles something about ingredients probably and how Changbin should not be disturbed when he is preparing for practising magic.

The day passes like that and by the time the last customer has left and Felix and Jisung have cleaned up around the shop Changbin finally comes out of the backroom again. He has his hands behind his back and awkwardly smiles at Felix. Before Felix could get a word in Changbin presents the item he had been holding behind his back, a beautiful multicoloured feather on a string, and hands it to Felix.

"Uh, merry Christmas, I suppose. I'm not quite sure if we've got the date right. Also, I wasn't sure what you'd like, but I remember you were curious about this one of the first times you came here", he says. Felix takes the feather carefully and then practically lunges himself at Changbin to hug him. The witch freezes awkwardly for a second but then hugs him back.

"You're almost like a week off but thank you so much", Felix mumbles against Changbin's shoulder. He can hear Jisung laugh from behind.

"Oh well, then enjoy your week too late or too early Christmas party, because this idiot right here thought it would be a great idea to throw you one even though none of us actually have any idea about how that works."

"Wait, you guys organised a party?", Felix asks while letting go of Changbin to get a better look at him. The witch shrugs.

"Uh, surprise?", he says awkwardly. "It's not just Jisung and me though, I kinda invited a few people and-"

"Oh come on, how much longer do you want us to hide back here?", another voice that is very distinctively jeongin interrupts from the backroom. Felix steps around Changbin to walk into the room and is immediately greeted by some of the most bizarre decorations he has ever seen. There are actual burning candles floating in the air, some dried herbs and flowers on strings hanging from the ceiling and a tree in the corner of the room that is decorated as a Christmas tree but at the same time not even remotely look like one since it's a bonsai. And gathered around the table are five more people smiling at Felix.

"We heard that it's a family holiday for most of the people who do celebrate it, so we figured that you might appreciate if we all celebrated it together", Changbin explains as he enters the room.

"Yeah, cause we are like totally your family now", Jisung adds while throwing an arm around Felix's shoulders. Felix looks around the room, at the weird decorations, the bizarre Christmas hat choices some of his newfound friends are wearing, the little Christmas bonsai in the corner of the room and the eight steaming mugs on the table before he smiles back at them all.

"This is the best Christmas party I have ever had in my entire life!"


End file.
